sunday randoms

So if you're hanging with me on facebook or twitter then you already know The Abster won an ipod touch at school for raising the most money for the Halloween dance-a-thon. As you can imagine her feet have barely touched the ground since.

After getting her all charged up we put some music on it, but more importantly we downloaded Angry Birds. Michael is officially addicted and is planning on ditching his bberry for an iphone.

Go ahead and guess how many times I have said the following phrase this weekend..... that's it! You're all grounded from Angry Birds.

I will admit to a smallish addiction to Plants vs Zombies. Gosh it's fun.

Free apps rock, by the way.

I have met my goal of knitting twelve scarves to donate to a local agency. I'm now knitting up some cancer caps for the local children's hospital.

Looking forward to trick or treating with the kids tomorrow night.... I know, who am I turning into!?

I can't be the only one who's ears don't seem to be compatible with ear buds can I? Am I wearing them wrong? What the heck?

Our theme for this coming Christmas is less is more and it's the thought that counts. Mike and I were tossing around some ideas this afternoon. We're both pretty excited about it.

friday high five - halloween candy

Well in honour of Halloween this weekend I thought we'd Friday High Five what I'm going to sneak out of the girls candy haul first....

1. Kitkat!! Always number one!!
2. Aero. Gotta love the bubbles.
3. Coffee Crisp. How do you like your coffee?
4. Peanut butter cups. How can you go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter?
5. Caramilk. How do they get the caramel in there?

still

My Mom stopped by to visit me at work today. Just for a minute. Just to give me a hug. I appreciated it, but was a little baffled as to why I needed a hug on a random Thursday afternoon. Don't get me wrong, I love hugs any day of the week, but bear in mind my Mom lives 30 minutes away. So she hugged me and then she said, it was 26 years yesterday...... how soon we forget.

So yes, maybe I didn't realize that yesterday was the 26th anniversary of the day my Dad passed away. I never called to check in with my Mom. Never lit a candle. Nobody mentioned the day to me. I did text with my brother, but we were watching Survivor and discussing what a horrible game move Ozzy was making and wondering why Coach was such a tool.

I'm not one to get hung up on "the day". The years click over, but it doesn't really matter. Yesterday was the same as today and it will be the same as tomorrow. He's not here. When my kids want to call Papa, they'll talk to Mike's Dad. When the pipes are leaking under the house, we'll call Mike's Dad. My Dad won't be here for birthdays or Christmas or babysitting or to brag on his grandbabies.

It's not how soon we forget. How can you ever forget? Every day I look at my girls and a part of me is crushed that he's missing this. Every day.

all i want for christmas

While we were out for a walk the other night Abby and I were discussing Christmas and what she was going to put on her Christmas list.

Me: So what are you going to put on your list for Christmas?
Abby: An ipod and a dsi!
Me: And what would you like after those things?
Abby: A bean bag chair! No wait, I already asked Grandma for a bean bag chair.
Me: Okay, what else?
Abby: World Peace. And a sign that says save the environment. Anything about saving the world. I'm going to be a hippie.
Me: When you grow up, you're going to be a hippie?
Abby: No, next Halloween I'm going to be a hippie.

what's cooking wednesday - tamale pie

My favourite little local Mexican restaurant has a pretty fantastic tamale pie on their menu, so when I cam across this recipe I knew I had to try and recreate it at home.




Tamale Pie

2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 ground beef
1 lrg onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 can (2 1/4 oz) sliced ripe olives
2 tsp chili powder
2tsp minced fresh cilantro
3/4 cup shredded cheese

In a small sauce pan, bring the water, salt and a cayenne to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil and slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Cook and stir with a wooden spoon for 15-20 minutes or until polenta is thickened and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the pan.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the beef, onion, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until cooked through. Stir in the beans, enchilada sauce, chilies, olives, chili powder and cilantro, heat through.

Spread polenta on the bottom of a greased 8 inch square baking dish. Top with meat mixture. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 5 minutes longer until the cheese is melted.

Recipe Notes: So I ended up building this upside down. You see it's more like a shepherd's pie at my favourite Mexican place in presentation, so that 's what I did. As much as I wanted to love this I didn't. Mike was pretty unimpressed with it as well. This won't be making it into rotation, I'm just going to leave the tamale pie up the professionals at the Thirsty Cactus.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

gratitude

I've started posting a daily gratitude list on twitter. Things have been crummy lately and I've felt lower than low. The tide is slowly turning and I'm eager to help it along. I recently read that making a daily gratitude list improves your quality of life, which is the same thing The Oprah told me years ago, so that story checks out. I'm game to give it a try.

So for the past few days I've been posting as many things I am grateful for that can fit within the 140 character twitter limit, including the #gratitudelist hash tag. Why on twitter? Seems the easiest option for me. The option that pretty much guarantees I'll post it every day. Want to join me? Just post your gratitude list on twitter once a day and use the hash tag.

Have you ever made a gratitude list?

sunday randoms

After running all day yesterday for Touch a Truck I would have loved to spend a day in my jammies, but alas the girls and Granny wanted to go to the mall.

There were a lot of people in Value Village today. Like way too many. Also that place smells like a basement. On a more positive note though, we got Abby a pretty kick ass denim cow girl appropriate shirt for Halloween.

I'm drowning in laundry, please send help.

I forgot there is leftover cheesecake in the fridge.

You just never know where you're going to meet a new friend. That's kind of nice.

Maya loves to try on clothes, Abby participates grudgingly.

I'm just finishing up my 12th scarf. My goal was to donate a dozen scarves to charity this year. Now I'm moving on to cancer caps for kids.

Time to serious about Weight Watchers again. I've been ignoring it for far too long.

is that score out of ten

My Mom had the kids today while Mike and I were busy with all things Touch a Truck. She made sure that the girls got to Touch a Truck and that Maya got to her little friend's party.... she also picked up milk, because I was out, cooked me dinner and tidied my house a bit.... for which I am overwhelmingly grateful, but this post is about Maya.

As I was tucking MyPie into bed tonight I asked her....
Me: Did you have fun today?
Maya: Yep!
Me: What was more fun, Touch a Truck or the birthday party.
Maya: Both. They were both 150.

friday high five - i was raised on

1. Judy Blume novels.
2. Rod Stewart's Do Ya Think I'm Sexy... on vinyl.
3. Dukes of Hazzard
4. Soccer croquet in my Grandma's backyard.
5. Perogies and cabbage rolls.

What were you raised on?

finding the good

I was feeling a little run down and overwhelmed  today, but sitting here I realized.....Abby is rocking the heck out French this year. She's had three tests so far, on the first she got two wrong and the other two were both perfect! She's loving the class. Loves her French teacher. I am beyond excited to have her so excited about school this year.

So all these hours I've spent putting together this fundraiser that will benefit her school. All the hours I'm going to spend on Saturday making sure it all goes off without a hitch.... all worth it! Every single minute of it because I know it's all going to support the incredibly great things that happen at our little school and our incredibly fantastic teachers. Yeah. So worth it!

what's cooking wedneday

Oh my gosh it's only a few days until Touch a Truck. Will we survive the chaos? Only time will tell.

So with all that busyness that means there's no cooking going on here.... well nothing worth talking about, but y'all tell me what you've been cooking up.

better late than never

Sometime in the past year one of my girl friend's was over visiting, she had just arrived as the kids were finishing up dinner. That night Maya was eating a wrap with peanut butter and cheddar cheese on it. My friend couldn't believe she was actually eating that and it's become somewhat of a joke between us ever since.

So tonight, we had tacos for dinner. Now 75% of the family loves tacos.... which makes it a win in my books. Maya won't eat them because she doesn't eat lettuce, ground beef, tomatoes, or sour cream. So tonight she had peanut butter on a wrap with some shredded cheddar on the side, just to snack on.

Part way through dinner she had this to say.....

Know what you shouldn't eat together? Peanut butter and cheese. It's disgusting. If you ate that then you would have something horrible in your mouth. Blech!

And it only took her the better part of a year to come to that conclusion!

sunday randoms

So Saturday night found me at a hoedown. I know, right? I'm kind of wondering what I've become myself. So we had a lovely beef dinner and then hung around to hear a couple of our besties sing. They haven't in a while, but even still I love the way they sing I'll Fly Away. Love it. Then there was square dancing. Oh yes there was. I did not partake, but that may have been me up there line dancing. Maybe.

At this point my Mom's finger will be itching to press the comment button so she can tell y'all that I did in fact take line dancing classes back in the day. Oh yes I did.

So I play scrabble on fb with my sister-in-law, the scrabble queen, every once in a while she throws me a bone and lets me win one. She's actually making me a better player because her level of play is way up there. I gotta bring it or she'll slaughter me for sure. Anyway I also started playing Words With Friends with some friends, it's the same but different and for some reason it only likes to work for me some of the time! It's so annoying. Does this happen to anyone else? Also anybody up for a game of either?

My pal Leah almost scarred her daughter for life, does it make a bad person if I laughed my tail off when I read it?

Still reading Valley of Horses. ML is itching for me to finish it because she just finished the first book, Clan of the Cave Bear and wants to get on with the second. I just need the world to stop for a day and I'd be able to wrap it up. Only 6 days until Touch a Truck and then things should quiet down. Ha... right.

She's only 9, but she's got the teenager thing down already! Twenty-five minutes before bed on a Sunday night is when she decided it was time to do her homework.

Recipe testing this week.... cake batter fudge. Oh yum!

what's cooking wednesday - hot chocolate floats

Gosh, you give me a Monday off and that just throws me off for the rest of the week.I should have posted this last night, but better late than never, right?

It's that time of the year, hot chocolate season! Abby asked me to pick some up this week since we were out. She was helping put the stuff away when she got very excited... you got hot chocolate floats?!

I hadn't. In fact I had never heard of such a thing. I bought hot chocolate, but she showed me the side of the package and there was a recipe for hot chocolate floats printed right there. Mike had to work afternoons all weekend so the girls and I settled in with a movie and hot chocolate floats.

They are pretty easy to make too.....

Make yourself a mug of hot chocolate and add a scoop of ice cream. Topping with whipped cream is completely optional.

No surprise these were big hits here. I'm thinking jammies, hot chocolate floats and a Christmas movie will work it's way into the 25 days of Christmas this year.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

things that go bump in the night

Last night I was enjoying my weekly gab fest with ML while we knitted away on donation scarves when there was a loud thump from upstairs. I set aside my knitting and went to investigate only to fin Maya sitting up in her bed.

Me: Are you okay?
Maya: I bumped my brain.
Me: You what?
Maya: I bumped my brain.
Me: But you're okay?
Maya: Yeah.
Me: Did you fall out of bed?
Maya: Uh huh and I bumped my brain.

#10photos

Today the lovely Andrea over at a Peek Inside the Fishbowl was hosting her ever popular #10photos for Thanksgiving. The idea is you take one picture an hour of whatever you happen to be doing at the time and post on twitter or your blog or both if twitpic is working... which it was not for me today. The horror. I managed to make it through though. First world problems, as they say.

Anyway.... here is my day as boring as it may seem.

9am- breakfast!




10am- attempting to beat the Scrabble Queen.




11am- on the deck.




12pm- Little People with MyPie




1pm- tea and twitter.




2pm- roasting onions with the chicken




3pm- decorating for Halloween




4pm- mashed for dinner




5pm- butter tart pie




6pm- who wants to clean up?

sunday randoms

So I have spent just about every free minute in front of my laptop working on Touch a Truck or alternately School fair paper work. I am happy to report I am finally 100% caught up with both! Yay!

Hmmmm I wonder if choir practice was cancelled for tomorrow night.

It's always interesting when you find kids playing in your yard even when your kids aren't playing in your yard.

This may have been the quietest Thanksgiving in the history of Thanksgivings for us. Planning on cooking a little chicken tomorrow night and we'll pretend it's turkey.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Tangled is my favourite Disney movie. Sorry Toy Story, Lion King and Cinderella.

Alright, who else is excited about the Footloose remake. I know who else..... Michael. Shhh don't tell anybody.

friday high five - thankful

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my Canadian friends out there. We aren't actually having a big Thanksgiving dinner this weekend........ Mike is working afternoons all weekend, so it's going to be a nice quiet weekend just the girls and I thinking about how much we have to be thankful for.......

1. My family. Honestly the past two months have been tough. So tough. Luckily our families have allowed us to lean on them, very heavily. We appreciate it beyond words. Then there is Michael, going through such a stressful time can sometimes bring out the worst in us when it comes to our spouses. I am happy to report that, if anything, this has made us tighter than ever.... likely because I play the role of long suffering and uber supportive wife to Oscar level qualities. I kid. I kid........ sorta. As for my baby girls, well they've been managing the best they can.... which for Maya means more crying than usual.

2. My family by choice. There are plenty of people out there who we have welcomed into our lives like family and these past two months would have been a lot more difficult if not for their support, willingness to listen, texts, emails and lots of hugs and the occasional comment about my new sexy haircut. It's made the tough stuff a little easier to manage. I am thankful for each and every one of you.

3. Reading. I'm fairly certain that my insomnia would be off the charts if not for The Earth Child Series by Jean M Auel. Every night I have crawled into bed and forced myself to concentrate on the story until my eyes couldn't stay open a minute longer. Easy to do with a story as engrossing as this one has been. I love long books and I love that there are six thick books in this series. I'm only on book two, Valley of the Horses, so I have plenty of time ahead with Ayla and Jondalar.

4. Work. I have lots of work to do right now. On top of my regular job.... where my best girls there have really been bringing the funny lately. Thanks ladies it's been great to put all the other stuff aside and have some laughs at work. You have all been good for my soul. xo Also there's a lot of post fair work I need to get done, sooner than later, so that's been grabbing most of my free time. So much that I have yet to see a full episode of Glee (I hear I'm not missing much this season) or Dancing with the Stars. Also I have my next big project coming up in a couple of weeks... (Touch a Truck!!) that I have to be ready for. So there hasn't been a lot of time to wallow, but don't worry we've been managing to squeeze it in.

5. Health. We are all healthy. What more can you ask for?

What are you thankful this weekend?

knowing me, knowing you - october 2011

It's time once again for the monthly interview project... knowing me, knowing you....

1. Are you watching Revenge?

Oh I am! It's reminds me a bit of those great night time soaps like Dynasty, Dallas and Knots Landing, just darker. It's been my favourite new show so far! Related...... Madeline Stowe is one scary matriarch. I would not want to cross her.

2. Do you decorate for Halloween?

I've just started in the past couple of years. Every year I've been trying to add to the decor. This past weekend Abby hung up the spiders and the scarecrow outside. I've got gravestones for the yard. I've seen super cute wreathes on pinterest that I'm dying to make. Who would have ever thought I would start to love this holiday.

3. Do you have any crafty plans for Christmas presents?

Umm not as of yet. I guess I better get moving on that. It's coming faster than you think.

4.What's your dream vacation?

These days I am obsessed with the idea of a cottage vacation with a bunch of friends and all our kids. What? I blame Hollywood blockbusters like Grown Ups and Dan in Real Life.

5. Which of your relatives live closest to your house.

Papa and Grandma Linda. It's a little less than five minutes from our front door to theirs by car.

what's cooking wednesday - cashew chicken

I say I hate nuts, but that isn't really true. I really detest walnuts, brazil nuts, hazelnuts. 100%. I love almonds and cashews... especially the sea salt and black pepper ones...... and peanuts if they've been beer nutified. So when I came across this recipe for cashew chicken I was game to try.




Cashew Chicken
1 lb boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oil, divided
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp minced gingerroot
1 onion, diced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup catalina dressing
1/2 cup salted cashews

Mix chicken, cornstarch and soy sauce  and marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes. Heat 1/2 tsp of oil in a large skillet or wok on high heat. Add garlic and gingerroot and stir fry for 1 minutes. Add the chicken and stir fry for 4-5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the wok and add the remaining oil, onions and mushrooms to the pan. Cook on medium high heat for 2 minutes and then add the chicken back in. Cook for another two minutes or until cooked through. Stir in the catalina dressing, top with the cashews and serve.

Recipe Notes: This was really great. The kids refused to try it, but Mike and I both really enjoyed it with rice. This will certainly be making it into the rotation.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page.

*All front page links will be deleted!*
*Posts that aren't linked back will be deleted*
*Posts that don't include some sort of a recipe will be deleted*

Don't make me be a jerk. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday

angels

This past weekend Maya was sitting at the kitchen table working on a masterpiece with her pencil crayons. I was nearby, tidying the kitchen counter when... out of nowhere...... Maya unleashed an epic sigh.

Maya: I wish I had a guardian angel.
Me: Oh, you have one!
Maya: (with more than a little whine in her voice) Not I don't!
Me: Maya, you walked away from a pretty serious car accident with a couple of scratches, trust me, you have a guardian angel.
Maya: (instantly perks up) I do? Who is it?

Now that I can't answer that for sure, but I do know that we have enough loved ones up there that somebody's clearly keeping an eye on us.

It was interesting that the car accident came up this weekend because today Grandma Sandi had to go to court because the guy that hit them was fighting the charge. I know, right? He turns into Maya's car door with enough force behind him that he flipped the car over, but he's going to fight it. And then when she got there he pleads guilty.

Say what now?

Yep he plead guilty. Isn't that intelligent use of our court system?

Mike figures he was betting on Grandma Sandi and/or the officer not showing up. I guess they fooled him.

sunday randoms

Friday night Mike and I sat down to watch a movie I had recorded for us to watch in.... wait for it..... 2008. So it felt good to cross that off the old to do list, finally.

I am a good half way through the after the fair paperwork I have to deal with. I must have finally figured my own system out, because I am whipping through it this year. Good thing because Touch a Truck is only a few weeks away!

We had meet the teacher night this past week. It was nice to finally officially meet the kids teachers. I'm so excited for the class Abby is in. I think her teacher is the perfect match for where she is right now. I'm so excited to see how things go for her this year. Maya loves her new teacher as well. I admit, I am not fully over losing her old kindergarten teacher, but her new teacher seems nice and had a lot of nice things to say about Maya. What more can you ask for?

Mike and I have been on holidays this past week and I can't tell you how nice it's been to take a break from the roller coaster that our lives have been the past month. Of course tomorrow it's back to reality...... I'm pretty sure that's what brought Mike's migraine on today.

On a completely related note...... it would be nice if somebody could just tell you how it's all going to turn out. Did we make the right decision? Should we turn back now? See it through?

On another completely related note.... my insomnia's been off the chain this weekend.

Is anybody else excited that there's going to be new Arrested Development episodes and a movie?

never boring

While I readily admit to being a card carrying Twi-hard, my kids aren't really all that interested. So you can imagine my surprise when I found this in Maya's room.




Me: Ummm what's with the poster?*
Maya: I had to put that up.
Me: How come?
Maya: Because the Biebs was on the other side.**
Me: ????***

*The poster came out of one of those "teen beat" type magazines that Granny bought them while they were camping.

**Both girls are pretty hardcore non-fans of Justin Bieber, much to my friend TC's dismay.

***At no time did it occur to her that she didn't need to put the poster up at all.